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Duran Duran (1981 album)
Duran Duran is the self-titled debut album by Duran Duran, released by Capitol-EMI on 15 June 1981. About the album Demos for the album were written and recorded at AIR Studios in late 1980, while one of Duran Duran's influences, the band Japan, was recording Gentlemen Take Polaroids just down the hall. The album was formally recorded in December 1980 at various recording studios in London (as well as Chipping Norton Studios) with record producer Colin Thurston, shortly after Duran Duran signed their record deal with EMI. In interviews, the band have recalled the struggle to continue recording after hearing of the 8 December death of John Lennon. Duran Duran reached #3 on the United Kingdom charts on 27 June 1981, and remained in the chart for 118 weeks, although the initial release was largely ignored in the United States. Relatively primitive music videos for upcoming singles "Planet Earth" and "Careless Memories" were also filmed in December. "Planet Earth" was then released on 2 February 1981 and reached #12 on the UK charts on 21 February. The band followed up with the release of "Careless Memories" on 20 April 1981, but it only reached UK #37 (on 9 May). The third single was to become the most successful from this album. "Girls on Film", released 13 July, went to #5 in the charts thanks to its notoriously "sexy" music video. Re-release in 1983 Duran Duran was re-released in the US on 25 April 1983, after the wild success of their second album Rio in America gave the band another chance to market their first album there. The then-new single "Is There Something I Should Know?" was added to the album to promote it, as the song was previously a stand-alone single. The album's cover was also updated to look more like the cover of "Is There Something I Should Know?", adopting the 3D double-D logo that the band used at the time. Because of the time limitations of vinyl records, the inclusion of "Is There Something I Should Know?" required the omission of the album track "To the Shore" on the reissue, like the Harvest Records release before it. "To The Shore" was reinstated on later CD re-issues. The 1983 reissue reached #10 on the US charts, and remained on that chart for 87 weeks (although it was overshadowed by the ongoing American success of the Rio album from 1982). Duran Duran was certified platinum (a shipment of one million units) by the RIAA on 4 June, 1985, a huge step-up from the performance of the previous 1981 release. Track listing #"Girls on Film" - 3:30 #"Planet Earth" - 3:59 #"Anyone Out There" - 4:02 #"To The Shore" - 3:49 #"Careless Memories" - 3:53 #"Night Boat" - 5:25 #"Sound of Thunder" - 4:06 #"Friends of Mine" - 5:42 #"Tel Aviv" - 5:16 1981 Harvest release (US): #"Planet Earth" (Night Version) - 6:20 #"Girls on Film" - 3:30 #"Is There Anyone Out There" - 4:02 #"Careless Memories" - 3:53 #"(Waiting for The) Night Boat" - 5:25 #"Sound of Thunder" - 4:06 #"Friends of Mine" - 5:42 #"Tel Aviv" - 5:16 *"Is There Anyone Out There" and "(Waiting for The) Night Boat" are alternate titles for "Anyone Out There" and "Night Boat", respectively. 1983 Capitol re-release (US): #"Girls on Film" - 3:30 #"Planet Earth" - 3:59 #"Anyone Out There" - 4:02 #"Careless Memories" - 3:53 #"Is There Something I Should Know?" - 4:07 #"Night Boat" - 5:25 #"Sound of Thunder" - 4:06 #"Friends of Mine" - 5:42 #"Tel Aviv" - 5:16 #"To the Shore" - 3:49 (1995 CD re-release only) Singles #"Planet Earth" #"Careless Memories" #"Girls on Film" #"Is There Something I Should Know?" (1983 re-issue) Personnel Duran Duran were: *Simon Le Bon - vocals *John Taylor - bass guitar *Andy Taylor - guitar *Nick Rhodes - keyboards *Roger Taylor - drums Also credited: *Colin Thurston - producer, engineer *Ian Little - producer on "Is There Something I Should Know" *Sleeve design - Malcolm Garrett / Assorted Images *Outer photography - Fin Costello *Inner photography - Terry Jones / Perry Haines *Outer photography (1983 USA re-issue) - Brian Aris See also *Discography 3: Duran Duran (1981 album) *Discography 3: Duran Duran (1981 reissue album) *Duran Duran discography Category:Duran Duran albums Category:Duran Duran (1981 album)